Labour has its inherent maternal and fetal obstacles to overcome including:                Length of time of labour        Pain of contractions        Tiredness of the woman        Difficulty of physically supporting oneself when in pain and tired.        The fetus has to flex, descend into, rotate, mould, and descend through the pelvic bones and pelvic outlet.        
Women who are in the active phase of the first stage of labour find it physically difficult to continue to mobilize. In this stage women want to be quiet and introspective as the contractions become more intense and frequent. In the active phase of the first stage of labour Midwives and birth attendants find it difficult to continue to encourage the labouring woman to mobilize and remain upright.
There remains a need to provide improved means to assist women in labour.